Sunday, May 9, 2010

I am a warrior and I am afraid

- by Iosif Dumitrash, age 16

I am a warrior and I am afraid.
I am in a war,
holding a gun and running scared,
killing more than I thought I would be.
I am not afraid to die.
I am afraid for my family and how they will survive.
I am hungry,
feeling my stomach sucking in to my body.
I am thirsty and would even drink the blood of a rabbit.
I am going hunting for snakes and rabbits,
eating bugs when I can't hunt,
waiting for the war to be over so I can go home.



[Editor's note: This poem is the result of an English class project examining local history through literature. After reading poetry, fiction and non-fiction representing various groups who lived in or came to Oregon in the 1700s and 1800s, youth were asked to write a poem from the perspective of someone new or established in the region during that time.]

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